Looking Back
by corneroffandom
Summary: After Wrestlemania, Dolph Ziggler reflects.


A few months after Z!TLIS had ended, the news hit. _As of February 28th, 2013, WWE has granted the release of Zack Ryder. We wish him the best in his future endeavors._

Dolph Ziggler thinks those words would forever be burnt into his brain. Not that they're a surprise, not really, but they still hit him somewhere deep inside. Despite their feuds and all of the bickering on and off Twitter, they'd been best friends. Zack had been there for the low points, and the high points, of his career, and now... he's just gone. Simple as that.

Nodding distractedly at whatever it is that AJ Lee is asking him, Dolph runs his hands along the exterior of his much abused briefcase and tries to focus on what's ahead with Wrestlemania, which is inching ever nearer. But all he can think about is that final episode of Z!TLIS. They'd been in New York for a few shows and Zack had begun filming, trying to get it worked out in his head what exactly he'd wanted to happen.

_The simple acceptance in his eyes had startled Dolph, makes him think now maybe he knew then what was coming with his career, as he sat behind a desk with various notes scribbled along it for the show, some weeks old, and some more recent. "Are you serious?" The Showoff asked, unsettled by what he'd just been told, not even realizing the irony behind the question. _

_"Yeah, bro," Zack spoke, his lips twitching slightly. "The show's ending, there's no point in pretending we're going to have a Wrestlemania match since you've got the briefcase and whatever's gonna come from that to focus on." He stretched his hands out on the desk and smiled, though it never came close to his eyes. "Lay me out, and just... say whatever comes to mind. Don't hold back, just do what you've always done with Ask the Heel. Alright?"_

He had hated that segment, not that the promo itself was bad, it was his usual style when shooting against Zack, but a part of him _had_ wanted that Wrestlemania rematch and, though he's beyond thrilled to have the opportunity at cashing in the briefcase soon, leaving the rematch behind so cruelly had bugged him long before Zack had been released. That it would now happen without Zack in the company leaves him almost dreading that moment after the cash in when he walks to the back- hopefully with the title belt in one hand- and sees everything _but_ the large, toothy grin of the Long Island Iced Z as some of his fellow Superstars come to congratulate him or even just to take in the new champion's success.

These thoughts remain with him the rest of the road to Wrestlemania, fueling him to continue fighting, working hard and taking his aggravation out on each opponent he has until they arrive in New Jersey for the biggest event of the year and he realizes anew that they're in Zack's backyard, which makes all of this even more depressing as the show begins. When he hands over his battered blue briefcase to the referee who'd just officiated one match and immediately will have another to keep an eye on, however short it'll end up being, everything after that happens automatically, as if he's watching it go by in slo-mo.

Hours later, Dolph, duffel bag in hand, stares at an apartment complex on some street of LI that he knows by first glance better than by name, and smirks half-heartedly, pressing a button on the panel before him. It's late but even so he wonders if the reason he's here is even home or out, desperate to ignore what happened earlier this evening just a few blocks away. A part of him had almost been tempted to go look at the Nassau Colloseum first before coming here, see if he went there to hang out, reflect on where his career had gone. Where it could possibly still go from here. But his ruminations are interrupted when an almost annoyed sounding voice comes from the intercom, asks, "Yeah?"

"It's me."

"Oh." Once buzzed inside, he hooks his bag over his shoulder before pulling the door open and wandering as quietly as he possibly can up the stairwell to the third floor, knowing that it's late and most people are probably asleep or at least not in the mood to be disturbed by a wrestler who's currently drowning in adrenaline. When he reaches the right apartment, a bleary looking Zack Ryder is leaning against his doorframe, his hair limp across his forehead while he blinks tiredly at Dolph. "Hey, bro."

"Hey." He shifts awkwardly on his feet. "Did I wake you up?"

Waving this off, Zack steps aside. "C'mon in." He switches a light on and makes his way to the kitchen, pulling out a Bud Light Lime from the depths of his fridge, offering it to Dolph. Deciding why not for once, Ziggler nods his thanks and takes it, following Zack over to the island where they look across at each other as he drops the duffel to the floor, Zack running a hand up his face and through his hair before taking a swig from his own BLL. "So, Mania tonight, huh? How was it?"

Abruptly overwhelmed by uncharacteristic awkwardness, Dolph finds himself unable to vocalize just _how_ it had been, shrugging half-heartedly before taking a sip of the beer also.

Zack rolls his eyes and leans over the shiny wood until he can see the bag on the floor. "Show me." Despite the slight tension in his voice, his eyes are calm and focused, all vestiges of sleep gone as Dolph swallows and kneels down, unzipping the bag. It's gleaming in there as soon as the smallest bit of light hits it and he's nearly knocked breathless again at it being _his_, his hands trembling a little as he reaches in and pulls it out of the pile of wrestling gear it'd been rested atop before he'd left the arena, knowing only one person he wanted to share this moment with.

Still, he's almost nervous as he makes it to his feet and looks over at his best friend, the World Title resting against his shoulder and reflecting every minor bit of light in the room. To his surprise, Zack looks far from shocked, leaning back to take it all in. "You knew?" he asks incredulously. As far as he'd known, the former Superstar had taken to avoiding Twitter and most wrestling sites, not wanting to know what was happening with his former company while still working through all of the changes he'd gone through lately.

"No, had no clue, actually. I just never doubted that this would happen when you did cash in." And there it is- the bright grin that Dolph had missed upon his victory, his own lips twitching up as he absorbs the certainty behind Zack's words.

"Really?" When Zack nods, he releases a quiet, "huh", before turning his focus back to the title on his shoulder. His name plate had been put on it before photos taken of him with AJ, showing off after his victory, and he's glad that he didn't have to drag it around with Del Rio's name still on it for _too_ long. He's not sure if this is a good idea, but finally he asks, "Do you want to hold it?"

Zack blinks, looking surprised at the offer. "Really?" In another, better set of circumstances, he and Dolph might've ended up wrestling for this belt tonight instead of Dolph just now getting his hands on the prize, so the Show Off can understand his surprise but he nods anyway, holding the title out to him. It's with no lack of awe that the former Superstar takes the belt from him and holds it against his shoulder, taking in the intricate design and every little detail, how it glows against his now mostly untanned skin. Ziggler smiles slightly as his friend visibly begins imagining that the title's his, with Zack Ryder on the name plate instead, and how it would feel.

After watching him grow more and more bitter, weighed down with the loss of WWE's interest in him leading up to his release, it's comforting to see that part of him still has the ability to dream and visualize himself in a better place, as champion. It may not be with WWE, but he has no doubt that, with time, the man will right himself, find a place where he's actually appreciated.


End file.
